Area Opinions

EPA rules put Xcel Energy under the gun

Xcel Energy, the region’s primary supplier of electricity, is feeling the heat from the federal government.

One result is ratepayers can expect an increase in their monthly electricity bills.

The utility, though, is being whipsawed by forces out of its control.

It’s a shame.

Xcel, which runs Southwestern Public Service Co. — its Amarillo-based subsidiary — and sells electricity to Lubbock Power & Light has filed a rate request with the Public Utility Commission of Texas. It is proposing an increase that will cost about $6 each month for the average ratepayer.

Where is the pressure being generated?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has instituted anti-pollution standards on the utility.

What’s more, it is imposing a deadline that Xcel cannot meet.

It must be air-quality compliant by the first of the year, which is impossible given the massive amount of work that needs to be done to power plants run by the utility.

Xcel and SPS filed a request for a stay with the federal court in Washington, D.C., asking the court for permission for time to bring its power-generating plants into Environmental Protection Agency compliance.

No word yet on whether the federal court will grant the extension.

There’s a certain frustration with the federal agency’s mandate.

It requires all utilities in Texas to come into compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Cross-State Air Pollution Rule,” which has identified Texas utilities as contributing to air pollution in neighboring states.

Except there’s one factor not being considered: Xcel’s plants are powered largely by natural gas, which is a much cleaner-burning fuel than the coal used by many other plants in Texas. But the Environmental Protection Agency cannot separate utilities within a given state, which means all Texas utilities come under the cross-state rule.

Let’s hope the court looks favorably on the utility’s request to buy a little time.